Gardner Minshew ruins Raiders momentum with must-see gaffe

It was always going to happen eventually. When the Raiders signed Gardner Minshew to a two-year, $20 million contract this offseason, we all knew where this was headed.

There was always going to be lots of Minshew Magic content: a silly video or two and a season's worth of boneheaded moments that make Raiders fans question if watching football is worth any of this.

While the Minshew Experience was destined to show up sooner than later, I'm not sure Raiders fans expected it to show up this quickly. Barely one quarter into the season, Minshew officially has his first Yakety Sax highlight. It is honestly so on-brand that you are almost forced to respect it.

Almost.

If you had any interest in quietly switching sides and pretending that you've always been rooting for Aidan O'Connell to be the starter, now's the time to do so.

Gardner Minshew's first disastrous moment of the season went exactly like what you'd expect

I'm not an NFL quarterback; throwing a football well on the beach with my friends is not a pretty sight. But Garnder Minshew is an NFL quarterback, and he has no excuse for his game throws looking so similar to my beach throws. What even happens here? How does the physics of this even make sense? Having to chase after the ball you threw straight into the ground has to be a humiliating top-3 moment for a quarterback.

It's funny: we all knew this was coming, and yet it's not any less surprising or bleak. It's the perfect kickoff moment to 17 games of whatever's coming from the QB position. I'd say it's going to be a whole season of unmemorable performances, but if Minshew – and then inevitably O'Connell – continue to make a few plays like this every game, no one's going to forget it any time soon.

The good news is it's a long season, so there's plenty of time for Minshew to bounce back. He's known for his magic popping up in unexepcted moments, so this may end up being nothing more than growing pains.